WATER AND NUTRIENT-RICH FOODS

Drinking the right amount of fluids, and the right kind of fluids, is decisive for our health and wellbeing. Indeed, our entire organism is made up of at least 50% water, which is essential for keeping a constant temperature and for all processes of dissolution and transportation within the body. Water also has an important role in cell production and therefore is one of the macro nutrients. In addition, the consumption of foods containing water can also greatly enrich our nutrient balance.

A healthy body requires about 2.5 litres of water a day to maintain a judicious water balance. Of that figure, 1 litre is provided directly by food and its utilisation. This leaves 1.5-2 litres of water that need to be drunk. However, under particular conditions, e.g., heat, illness or physical exertion, our water requirement can increase to up to ten litres.

It all depends on the right combination
Water is ideal for covering our fluid requirement, followed by unsweetened fruit and herbal teas and fruit juice spritzers - ideally from freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. For those who want to do even more for their health, you should try to eat plant and animal-based foods that contain a lot of water, such as vegetables, fruit, fish, seafood and low-fat dairy products, because not only do they provide us with the extra litre of liquid that we require, but also with important nutrients. The higher the content of vitamins, minerals and fibre, the more your water balance directly benefits your body.

But how much water does our food actually contain? Fruit and vegetables are 75 to 95 percent water, while dairy products like quark and yoghurt are up to 80 percent water depending on the fat content. Fish, seafood and poultry are about 70 percent water. Even cereals, meat and cheese can consist of up to and over 50 percent water. Generally speaking, the more water a food contains, the less fat and carbohydrates are to be found in it. Foods that are less than 30 percent water are referred to as law-water foods.

Nonetheless, the important thing is what else all these delicacies have to offer our health and fitness. And here, the leaders in terms of water content are also clear winners when it comes to our RDA of vitamins, minerals and fibre. The fact is, those whose daily diet includes a significant proportion of fruit and vegetables, ideally organic, as well as seafood, low-fat dairy products and whole grains, are a great step ahead in terms of wellbeing.

More vegetables please!
With the exception of avocados and olives, vegetables are low in fat and protein, but packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre. Vegetables are classified as leaf, tuber, stem, pumpkin, fruit, root or sprouting vegetables, members of the onion family or legumes. Fresh, they provide vitamin A in particular, in the form of carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin C plus iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium. The fresher they are and the less harsh the method of cooking, the more essential nutrients can be dissolved and used via the water balance. A recent study by Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, proves that vegetable dishes, even with the generous addition of vegetable oils, do not have an especially high energy density, thus they are ideal for a light diet. Incidentally, vegetables have formed a fundamental part of the human diet since time immemorial, however, special methods of cultivation and refinement were only used from the late 19th century.

Fresh and fruity natural sources of energy
Fruit too has neither a lot of protein nor fat to offer, but instead provides us with large amounts of vitamins, fruit acids, minerals and fibre, including potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamins A, B6 and C. The rule of thumb when choosing fruit is: the more colourful it is, the more vitamins and minerals it contains.